New Delhi, June 18 -- Auto stocks, including Eicher Motors, TVS Motor Company, and Maruti Suzuki, jumped up to 2% in Wednesday's trade, even as frontline indices remained range-bound. The strength in auto shares followed reports that India is looking to Australia as an alternative source for rare-earth magnets, aiming to reduce its dependence on China, which has imposed restrictions on these critical materials used in automobiles, defence, semiconductors, and other industrial products.

Shares of Eicher Motors, TVS Motor Company, and Maruti Suzuki India rose by up to 2% intraday. Other constituents from Nifty Auto index such as MRF, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Bosch also rebounded from their intraday lows and were trading in the green.

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